In a safety related wireless gas detection environment, tracking a worker in a facility is very critical and also very challenging. Global positioning systems (GPS) are widely used for location purpose but may not be ideal for the oil and gas industry. Triangulation location algorithms are widely used in such environments. Three parameters are used in triangulation, received signal strength indication (RSSI), time difference of arrival (TDOA) and angle of arrival (AoA). To acquire the location information using a triangulation method, base stations may be programmed to act as access points, location anchors, or beacon cells, wherein these devices may be installed in known locations. The base stations may periodically transmit wireless beacon information. A gas detector within the base station proximity would receive base station identification (ID) information and send this information to the server for location calculation.
For a system using a single radio based gas detector, a challenge may arise when the base station beacon and the transmission of the gas detection data are accomplished using the same radio frequency channel. A traffic jam may easily occur when the network size is very large. Furthermore, increased location accuracy requires a higher density of base stations, which may cause the traffic to be even higher. When the traffic is very high, the gas detection wireless network may become unstable and prone to failure.